


"I stubbed my toe."

by InTooManyFandomsRay



Series: 50 DAYS DIALOGUE PROMPTS [4]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Attempt at Humor, Canon Universe, Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, I'm not sure where i went with this, M/M, Merlin is a cute lil boi, Mutual Pining, Oblivious Merlin (Merlin), POV Merlin (Merlin), Pining Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Soft Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Tired Merlin (Merlin), exhausted merlin, happy vibes only, soft merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:07:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29087349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InTooManyFandomsRay/pseuds/InTooManyFandomsRay
Summary: Merlin is exhausted and Arthur puts him to bed.
Relationships: Merlin & Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Series: 50 DAYS DIALOGUE PROMPTS [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2129253
Comments: 12
Kudos: 301





	"I stubbed my toe."

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I'm not sure where I went with this. I was pretty much as half asleep as Merlin was in this fic, so it starts one way and ends another. I'll probably scrap or rewrite it later. But, meanwhile, enjoy this random attempt at humor provided by my lizard brain.

Merlin didn’t understand why every magical being had to be so very cryptic when they guided him. Scratch that, _trying_ to guide him. He could never make heads or tails of any advice given by Kilgharrah. That damned dragon always went around in circles, and eventually, Merlin had to figure out the solution all by himself. And now, after years of blundering through nonsensical advice, he was done. So he did the natural thing anyone would do.

He kicked the Great Dragon.

The result was Kilgharrah rolling over in laughter and accidentally squashing a part of the forest and Merlin praying for death to come soon as he lay there clutching his toe. After he was done cursing the entire bloodline of dragons, he limped back to the castle.

He was still brooding over his pain and bad luck as he lit the fire in Arthur’s fireplace when the person in question clasped his wrist, forcing Merlin to look at him.

“Why are you limping?” Arthur asked, a small frown on his features. Merlin shrugged.

“I stubbed my toe.”

“On what?”

“Life.”

“ _Riiigghhtt_ …” Arthur trailed off, clearly unable to take the hint that Merlin was too tired to converse. Hearing no response from his servant, he let go of his wrist.

“Will that be all, sire?” Merlin asked, clasping his hands behind his back. Arthur raised an eyebrow at his behavior. He didn’t react, eye twitching with the effort to not snap back. They just stood there staring at each other, like another of their stupid staring contests. Seriously, Arthur may be pretty, but Merlin was too just _too tired_ for this at the moment.

“I’m tired, _Arthur_ , so if that is all, I would like to go get some sleep. Some of us have to actually work tomorrow, unlike your royal arse,” he snapped. Arthur still didn’t say anything, just staring at him with big incomprehensible eyes.

“Alright, whatever, I’m going. Goodnight, Arthur,” Merlin grumbled and turned around to leave.

Arthur grabbed his wrist again. “Wait!”

“What?! What is it?! Spit it out!”

“I want something.”

Merlin watched him, waiting for more information. When he got none, he prodded, “What?”

Arthur had a small smile on his face now. He opened his mouth, and Merlin watched his lips move but couldn’t register any sound. He frowned. Was he saying something? His half-asleep brain was barely acknowledging the throbbing in his toe, and now another pain in his arse was speaking in riddles.

Merlin cut off whatever Arthur was saying, “Can you _please_ be more specific? What do you want?”

Now, Arthur had a full-blown grin on his face.

“I want you.”

Eh??

Merlin stared at him. Is he trying to pull a prank? Seriously, what is it with everyone around him trying so hard to be mysterious?

“What?”

“Are you deaf, _Mer_ lin? I said, I want you,” Arthur repeated, now looking at him like he had completely lost his mind. Perhaps he had.

“What do you mean, you ?”

“I mean _you_ , you.”

Okay, Merlin was too spent for this. “You’re not making any sense.”

“Well, no more than usual,” he added after a second’s thought. Arthur stared at him, that stupid grin still on his face.

“I want you.”

“Yes, I heard you the first time. What do you mean? ” Merlin was growing exasperated with every word. He’s pretty sure he’s probably only hearing half words, and his sleep-addled mind is hallucinating Arthur smiling.

“I… want… you,” Arthur emphasized each word, speaking as though Merlin was a child.

“Okay, I’m probably asleep, and this is just another dream. I would like to wake up now, thank you very much,” he mumbled. No way would Arthur be telling him this in reality. No, he must be dreaming.

Arthur takes a step towards him, and the scent of lavender fills Merlin’s senses. Yep, definitely a dream.

“Merlin..” Arthur whispered, his breath ghosting over Merlin’s lips, and he was pretty sure he saw the blonde’s eyes drop down to his lips. Merlin swallowed. This was too good to be real. Arthur’s hand released his wrist, only to intertwine their fingers together.

“I should really wake up now,” Merlin murmured, staring into Arthur’s sparkling blue eyes. A soft laugh left the latter’s lips as he turned out, still holding Merlin’s hand. He dragged him to the bed.

“Come, sleep.”

On any other day, Merlin would’ve slapped Arthur’s hands off and walked away, probably retorting with a well-deserved insult. But today, he was too drowsy, and his brain had already decided that he was sleepwalking in a dream. So he complied.

He got into Arthur’s bed and snuggled against the soft pillow. A warm body joined him, spooning him from behind.

“Sleep, Merlin. I’m here,” a voice whispered. It was warm, and the voice was soft, and Merlin was sure the voice didn’t bear him any harm. So he closed his eyes and let sleep finally take over.

And come next morning, should George walk in with Arthur’s breakfast and see the duo spooning, he would leave and return with two plates, making sure to tell the guards outside to not let anyone disturb the King.


End file.
